Chelsey Galdi of Park Ridge and Kareem Abozied of Bridgewater exit Ryan's Boulevard Deli & Grill on Monday — the first time the deli was open since Sandy. / Jason Towlen/Staff Photographer

Written by

Nicholas Huba

@nicholashuba

NEXT STEP

Seaside Heights has submitted a plan to state and local officials to allow full access to the borough starting Jan.7. If approved, businesses can be open from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. and people can live in any units which are ready. All residential rentals will be required to obtain a new rental certificate of occupancy prior to occupancy. For more information about the repopulation of the borough, visit http://www.seaside-heightsnj.org/ .

More

ADVERTISEMENT

SEASIDE HEIGHTS — When Sammi Brach returned to the borough yesterday morning, her first stop was a familiar one.

Brach, a borough resident who is now living in Toms River after superstorm Sandy destroyed her home, made the familiar trip over to Ryan’s Boulevard Deli and Grill on the Boulevard.

“I just got over the bridge and this is the first place I had to come to,” said Brach, 24, as she sat in the deli. “This place is more important to see open than my own house. This is a place where my friends and I used to come.”

On Monday, businesses — for the first time since superstorm Sandy made landfall on Oct. 29 — were allowed to stay open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. for people who are working on their homes. Residents are still not permitted to live in the borough. A large piece of plywood with neon orange paint saying “OPEN” alerted residents that the deli was open.

“It's a sign of the resolve that this town has,” said Jimmy Smith, 40, owner of the deli. “After the storm you had two options, to either walk away or come back. I don’t think that anyone decided to walk away, it’s not what we do.”

Borough Mayor William Akers said the opening of businesses during the day showed that the area is committed to rebuilding.

“I think that it’s huge,’’ Akers said. “It shows that we are trying to get back to normal, but we are far from normal right now.”

The economy and tax base of the resort borough is based on business and tourism, Akers said.

“Tourism and businesses make up 75 percent of our $12 million budget,’’ Akers said. “Without it we would not be able to balance our budget.”

The borough has submitted a plan to county and state officials that would allow residents to start re-populating the municipality on Jan. 7, Akers said. The borough is waiting for approval on the plan, Akers said. Around the borough, contractors and utilities workers are continuing to work to clean up the damaged caused by Sandy.

Riggers’ bartender Jackie Talty pulled into the parking lot at 7 a.m. wondering what time she would have her first patron.

(Page 2 of 2)

Ten minutes later, Talty, 43, had her first customer at the bar. The patron ordered a Poison Pineapple, a drink that featured triple sec, vodka, and two different kinds of rum.

“It made me feel good. I did not expect to see someone that early,” Talty said. “It shows that people want to come back and get back to normal.”

As businesses begin to open, it will help lift people’s spirits in the storm-ravaged community, said Barbara Mancini, a bartender at Riggers for more than two decades.

“I think that it’s important to be open. It should bring people’s morale up,” said Mancini, 61. “It’s good to see some of locals come back and everyone wants to come back. This is like a family here and it’s good to see our family back.”

Customers agreed.

“This is one of the first steps,” said Chuck Kosanke, 62, of Seaside Park as he sat enjoying a beer. “I would say by the end of January people will be moving back in. This is just a beginning.”

Down the Boulevard from Riggers, Hooks owner Jim Maglies was still making repairs to the bar and was unable to open Monday.

“We had about two feet of water in our place and we lost a lot of our equipment,” Maglies said. “It’s probably going to be another two weeks before we are opened, but it’s good to see other business open.’’